The Simple Chicken Meal That Muhammad Ali Loved
Becoming the GOAT doesn't just happen. It takes commitment and discipline. Muhammad Ali is best known for his days in the boxing ring, but the "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" champion could not have won three heavyweight titles without the right fuel to keep his mind and body in shape. One of his favorite meals was fit for a champ. It consisted of baked chicken, green peas, mac and cheese, spinach, and hot buttered rolls. If your mouth is watering, join the club.
The legendary boxer ate to stay match-ready. According to a People interview with Ali's daughter, Laila, the Greatest Showman practiced living a life of healthy eating. She waxed nostalgically about how her dad "loved soul food." Cornbread stuffing or Laila's own famous stewed chicken? Count the Champ in. But it wasn't chicken day in and day out. Muhammad Ali was a huge fan of a good hamburger from time to time, so much so that he agreed to endorse a failed burger chain known as "Champburger."
Even athletes like sweets
While Muhammad Ali had a cook who crafted the meals that kept him in good form to bob, step, and jab in the rings at Madison Square Garden, Las Vegas, and beyond, he also had a penchant for one sweet that turned out to be his Achilles heel: bean pie. This custard-based pie is thickened with navy beans and infused with warm cinnamon and vanilla. His personal chef, Lana Shabazz, was known to make it on repeat. In fact, Shabazz wrote in her cookbook, "Cooking for the Champ," that Ali jokingly blamed the slices of this pie for his loss to Joe Frazier in 1971.
Ali was also known to eat a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and orange juice. Of course, he also wasn't opposed to breaking with his routine after a hard-fought win. The Guardian reported that, in 1974, after the "Rumble in the Jungle" fight where he beat George Foreman, breakfast was a little bigger. Ali's meal made classic steak and eggs look like an appetizer. The fighter ate two steaks and 12 eggs and may have had some ice cream to finish off his meal. It's good to win.